Before reading any further please be aware this is pure speculation/imagination on my part. I've not heard any suggestions of this exact structure, it's just a collection of thoughts I've had for a few years. Happy to be shot down. There will clearly be a lot of pushback as nobody likes big change, especially if it condemns some historic clubs to the non-league wilderness, but change is going to happen soon, too many clubs are too deep in financial blackholes for the current crisis no to get them.
With the ongoing Covid crisis and government saying football grounds will remain closes for the foreseeable future, we reach a crossroads in English league football history. For many years it has been contested that there are simply too many professional clubs to be sustainable. With the current distribution of monies that is probably an incontrovertible facts, though there remains plenty of money in the game as a whole, we see clubs at risk for some smaller than top players earn in a week.
It is incredibly likely that a number of clubs will go bust in the next 6 months, whilst a large number of other clubs will limp on as professional outfits when going semi-pro might actually be beneficial to their long-term survival.
So whilst the below suggests may seem a little outrageous, they are based on the undeniable facts above. These suggestions also hopefully would improve the quality of investment (and investors) in the professional game.
The big suggestion, which will obviously be the most controversial, is scrapping the existing 4 tier structure with 92 teams, and replacing it with a 2 tier structure with 60 professional teams. This structure would include the existing Premier league, and then the top 40 qualifying (more on that later) teams from the football league, split into 2 regional (North/South) divisions.
There are two reasons to move to the duel second tier system. Firstly, every team is one promotion aware from the top league. Currently there is little to no interest in L1 and L2 football outside of the fans of the teams within those leagues. The championship fairs much better due to be one step from the top flight. The second reason is to cut costs for both clubs and fans. There are brave soles who will happily travel 300+ miles from Plymouth to Sunderland on a cold Tuesday night, but they are a tiny number. Regionalising the league would hopefully results in bigger away attendances for all games, improving the television product, whilst increasing gate receipts for all clubs.
Obviously with 2 second tier divisions the current 3 up wouldn't work, no club is going to accept the bottom 6 being relegated from the top tier. The solution is then 2 up from each division (champions + playoff winners) and 4 down. There would inevitably be some push-back on 4 getting relegated, but that brings us to the next point.
The new structure with fewer teams would enable a far fairer distribution of funds. If we look at current prize money, it's around £150m for winning the EPL and over £100 for finishing deal last. Money in the Championship is then a factor or more lower, but with well over £100 million paid out in parachute payments. The new structure would still have the winners of the EPL taking home well over £100m in prize money, and then a gradual drop with each place all the way down to the teams at the bottom of the region leagues receiving at least £10m. The team finishing bottom of the EPL should receive no more, and ideally less then the teams finishing top of the regional divisions. This far more even spread of the prizes would allow the abolition of parachute payments and make relegation not such a dreaded even. A return to a pre-EPL time when going down wasn't a club threatening event. To aid in the financial transition from EPL to EPLN and EPLS relegation clauses in players contracts would be compulsory. There is simply no way to get clubs to voluntarily agree this on a per player basis. You'll always get a club trying to get a player by agreeing to skip the relegation clause.
However, along with this more equitable split of prizes, would need to go a stricter rule over financial mismanagement. Going into administration would result from expulsion from the professional game (i.e. down to NL level below the two regional divisions).
As mentioned earlier, the 40 clubs to make up the two regional divisions would be based on a number of qualifying criteria. The would necessarily be financial stability/surety of funding, quality of stadium, qualify of training facilities/academy level. Promotion to the EPL would be the champions of the two divisions, plus the play-off winners. With only 1 team relegated from each of the regional divisions, it may be beneficial to increase the playoff places from 4 to 8, but scrap the 2 legged semi-finals, changing to a simple higher places team gets home advantage. This increase would be to prevent too many dead-rubbers late in the season with potentially a sizeable group of clubs in each division being safe from relegation (especially if relegation is calculated over two seasons as explained below) and unable to reach the traditional 4 team playoffs.
Obviously there is still a financial cliff in the game, this time between the regional divisions of the professional game and the semi-professional level below. There is no easy way ease that transition. Only one team would be relegated from each regional division and an additional option is to make relegation based on two year points total. This way teams can't fall from the top tier to non-league in consecutive seasons, and a team will know at the start of the season if they are at risk and can plan accordingly. One bad season won't doom a team, and equally, teams who struggle year after year just surviving will have to improve or suffer relegation.
The compulsory relegation clauses in player contracts will help to some extent, but there may need to be some sort of parachute payment scheme. However there would need to be strict rules regarding spending of parachute payments. As they are currently implemented between the EPL and Championship they have a horribly distorting effect on the Championship. To preserve the integrity of NL divisions any parachute payments could not be spent on playing staff, they are to maintain infrastructure and non-playing staff.
With the 2 second tier division reduced from 24 to 20 teams there will be gaps in the schedule, especially with no FA trophy, tin pot cup, etc. for lower teams. The league cup, renamed to the Premier Super Cup or similar, would be the obvious competition to fill this void, especially in the first third of the season. The 40 second tier teams would be placed into 10 regional 4 team groups. This would result in 6 group games for each side, with the top 2 from each group going through to the next round. Here they would be joined by 12 EPL teams (the 4 newly promoted teams, plus 8 others not playing in Europe) to form the round of 32 and the competition would continue as a standard, single-legged, cup competition.
The FA Cup would be slightly tweaked. The non-league rounds would continue as normal pretty much, with 44 non-league teams eventually qualifying for the 3rd round where they would be joined by the 40 second tier teams to generate 88 ties. The 44 winners of those ties would then be joined by the 20 EPL teams in the 4th round after the winter break has completed.
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If nothing else I expect PL2 to really gain traction, clubs including Sunderland, Pompey, Ipswich and Bradford are already gathering support from other clubs behind the scenes. I actually think the salary cap has speeded along the process.
I also think regional leagues would work really well. Local derbies make great TV, the more the merrier if it leads to more pie for everyone.
I'm sure there's major flaws in my plans, but it does at least cover the major bases and likely obstacles.
This is too radical, unnecessary and uninteresting in my opinion.
Other countries like France and Germany (both of which countries entail greater travelling distances) have two national divisions: I can't see the Premier League / EFL leapfrogging them to having only one! It would greatly diminish the notoriety and prestige of the English League system, something which l know from experience is envied ( here in France at least).
Edit: France has 3 national divisions. Despite the attendances being far lower than in ours, they travel far greater distances.
3rd Div North (18)
3rd div South (18).
The German third tier isn’t regionalised but I do see that as a likely solution here unless 30+ EFL teams are going to go bust and leave 60-65 clubs, which would be a travesty.
- Three up, three down for the PL/PL2.
- Four down, four up (two north, two south) for PL2/Div 3.
Non-league likely to go fully regional in this situation too?
PL2 (20)
Championship North (20)
Championship South (20)
92 clubs becomes 80.
20 teams in each league.
3 down for PL.
3 up, 4 down for PL2.
2 up from each of the north/south leagues.
1 down automatically from each of the north/south leagues. 2nd bottom in each league play a relegation play off with the loser also going down.
Sadly, I think the EFL will cave to pressure to allow a number of U23 sides into the pyramid - as this will mean less work and thought power than having to think up of a complete restructuring.
Those U23 teams will replace the clubs that will inevitably go out of business over the next few years.
EFL chairman Rick Parry: "EFL clubs lost £50m last season as a result of playing matches behind closed doors or curtailing the season and stand to lose a further £200m in 2020/21 should we be required to play the whole season without supporters in grounds."
Parry: "We remain optimistic that a solution will be found but we should also be very clear that if it is not, then the outlook for many clubs in the period ahead will be very challenging."
Parry: "I am encouraged that the Government has recognised the need for urgent financial assistance for sport and discussions will continue with DCMS and the Premier League.
So I would be wary of dismantling century old structures because of Covid or ridiculous financial cockups such as Wigan and Charlton.
It reminds me a bit of the way we manically destroyed our railways and within a few decades discovered we could really do with getting some of them back. (While we were closing our best line to the north France and Japan were building new ones).
I'm convinced in 20 years time, when the top clubs have joined a European TV based league, there will be 92 clubs eager to compete in the historic English Football League offering a cheap day out to see football played in the flesh.
Don't need regional leagues - HS2 is coming!
I honestly think the premier league would do away with relegation if they could.
Money money money.